Category: Makelangelo

Makelangelo

Makelangelo update!

2019-09-23 Dan

Makelangelo firmware has been updated to v9.1.0.

  • If I run a Makelangelo 5 from the LCD panel and tell it to go home, it will often go to a position high on the left side. This was the symptom of an off-by-two problem in the EEPROM, which has been fixed.
  • Added Dynamic Acceleration: accelerate more slowly at the bottom and in the corners to avoid swinging from the pen holder and get better quality drawings
  • Improved LCD menu options with a toggle up/down command, a status menu, and more responsive dial behavior.

Makelangelo software has been updated to 7.21.0.

  • Better DXF and SVG handling
  • candy-cane coloring of line segments to show more of what’s going on in the mind of the robot
  • better time estimates
  • at the end of a Makelangelo 5 drawing, move the pen away from the image.

These two must be updated together. For help with updating the firmware, please see our pictoral guide.

Makelangelo

Makelangelo Spirographs pt 2

2019-09-22 Dan

Here’s the Turtletoy link: https://turtletoy.net/turtle/d07d0009b3

Save the file as SVG and load it in Makelangelo Software to run it on your Makelangelo Robot. I drew this with 16771 commands in 38m56s.

  • Acceleration=150
  • max speed=180
  • draw speed=100
  • lift speed=80
Makelangelo Tutorials

Makelangelo Spirograph Art

2019-09-21 Dan

Making spirograph art is easy on the Makelangelo. Here’s a few examples of how you can generate beautiful geometric patterns and spirograph art. Post your favorites to the forums!

Makelangelo Spirograph Art with Scratch

Export the output from Scratch, load the SB file in Makelangelo Software, and proceed as normal.

Makelangelo Spirograph Art with Processing

void setup() {
  float r=225;
  float a = 0;
  println("G0 Z90");
  driveto(r,a);
  println("G0 Z30");
  while(r>15) {
    r-=0.5;
    a+=121;
    driveto(r,a);
  }
  println("G0 Z90");
  println("G28");
}

void driveto(float r,float a) {
  float x = sin(radians(a)) * r;
  float y = cos(radians(a)) * r;
  
  println("G0 X"+x+" Y"+y);
}

Copy/paste the output into a file called “test.ngc”, open that file in Makelangelo-Software, and proceed and normal.

Makelangelo News Robot Arm

Weekly summary ending 2018-02-22

2019-02-22 Dan

Hey, gang! Here is what we worked on in the last week, where we are heading next, and how you can join us.

Makelangelo Update Released!

Makelangelo Software v7.20.1 and Makelangelo firmware v9.0.0 are out now. This is a major change to the firmware which rewrites all the logic for planning movement, especially with acceleration and deceleration. If you upgrade one then you must upgrade both. We have written a guide to help you with updating the Makelangelo firmware that should make this easy for you.

One of the side effects is that the old and busted steps/min values have been replaced with new hotness mm/s and mm/s/s. I am getting good drawing results with top speed=90mm/s, drawing speed=60mm/s, and acceleration=300mm/s/s. See for yourself.

Makelangelo 5 at Science World Vancouver, Feb 20, 2019

Wednesday the power was out for a scheduled electrical upgrade and we used the time at Vancouver’s Telus World of Science to take some better photographs and video. I hope that with this I can finally make a presentation pitch video that does the machine sweet vengeful justice.

Fun fact: A large sheet of acrylic has enough static cling and surface tension to hold an A0 sheet of paper without tape.

Makelangelo on a white board

I find that the Makelangelo suction cups work great on glass …and not so great on a class room white board. I tasked Jacob with designing a new system and he went through several rapid prototype iterations.

In house we’ve moved on a few versions from what you just saw and have an even better design. When it’s ready we’ll offer it in the store and on Thingiverse.

I should also mention Scott has been doing a great job of manufacturing Makelangelos and documenting process. I don’t mention enough how good he’s doing (very!) at a job some people would look down on. Documentation is hard, yo! He’s even inventing better ways to make the machines faster with less futzing.

Sixi motors arrived

Jin was taking some much earned time off this week, during which time the motors and the power supply we ordered finally arrived. As I write this he’s doing electrical tests and torque tests and making sure that everything is to spec.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town,

In anticipation of our new CNC machine arriving in ~6 weeks I’ve been taking night classes to learn how to be a better machinist. Here’s a funny from my last session:

Manners really seal the deal.

Next

The next week is Jacob & Scott’s last week of internship. Pizza party? Pizza party. If everything goes well with the testing we should be installing the new motors into Sixi this week. I can wait, but I don’t want to… 😭

Join Us

Get the latest Sixi Master Assembly for Fusion360 on Patreon
OR
Buy anything in our store and mention ‘The Fusion link’ in the notes field to get a link by email.

You can use this file to build your own copy of the robot arm.  Put that 3D printer you bought to use – Make it your own! Share your creation with others!  That’s what open source is about.  If you build one we would love to share it with others.  I am actively seeking talent… show me what you got.

As always, follow our daily progress on our Instagram or see our older stuff on Youtube.

You can do us a huge favor by watching just 2 minutes of video on our Youtube channel. We have 44k subscribers on IG and we need 100k minutes watched to monetize our channel. If you all watch 2 minutes of video that’s 88k minutes done, finito, in the bank, sayanora. So Like, Share, Subscribe! We thank you.

Lastly, thank you for your likes, subscribes, comments, and purchases. You keep the lights on and the mood high so we can keep working on awesome things that will help the planet.

3D Printing Makelangelo Robot Arm

Weekly summary ending 2018-02-15

2019-02-15 Dan

Hey, gang! Here is what we worked on in the last week, where we are heading next, and how you can join us.

Welcome Jacob & Scott

We have new interns! Our factory grows! Mwhahahahaha~! I get these two bright young men for three whole weeks and I am working them tirelessly to breaking beneath the unforgiving whip of industry on every project that we’ve been saving as “great if we had more unfiltered evil time”.

Among their first tasks has been converting some of the STL files we use into Fusion 360 versions so that we can tweak them; testing parts they designed;

practicing their maniacal laughter; and repairing a 3D printer that has an unfortunate accident…

New Dozuki Process Control

Scott & Jacob have also been building new documentation for our team, DIYers, and new users. Documenting our process means more control and better quality. I love Dozuki ever since I saw it used by Prusa Printers. Check out the start of our documentation.

Sixi Robot Arm Anchor and Shoulder First Look

Yes! The first version of the anchor and the shoulder have been birthed from the primordial ooze printed. As soon as omc-stepperonline.com come back from Lunar New Years and ship our parts (we expect delivery ~the 20th) then we’ll be putting it together and finally conquering the planet making it move.

Get Educated

I’m back in school to up my game!

First off, Mandarin. I keep ordering fancy parts from China and I hear all the best deals are on chinese-only sites like Taobao. It is easier to convince people that robots are the future if I speak their language. One in six people understands Mandarin so it’s the obvious choice.

Second off, professional Machinist courses. I’ve signed up to take CNC lathe work at BCIT and their classroom is a machine porn wet dream.

Next

Next week we have a scheduled power outage for another electrical upgrade to the super ray. I plan to spend the time at Vancouver’s Science World wreaking havoc filming footage for a new Makelangelo video. We don’t plan to be there more than once for this, so I’m drawing schemes storyboards for the first time. Nice!

Join Us

Get the latest Sixi Master Assembly for Fusion360 on Patreon
OR
Buy anything in our store and mention ‘The Fusion link’ in the notes field to get a link by email.

You can use this file to build your own copy of the robot arm.  Put that 3D printer you bought to use – Make it your own! Share your creation with others!  That’s what open source is about.  If you build one we would love to share it with others.  I am actively seeking talent… show me what you got.

As always, follow our daily progress on our Instagram or see our older stuff on Youtube.

Lastly, thank you for your likes, subscribes, comments, and purchases. You keep the lights on and the mood high so we can keep working on awesome things that will help the planet.

Special thanks to Bernie at Coast Precision CNC that saw my broken printer Instagram post and offered me one of his spare thermistors. We were back up and running the same day! Excellent.